The Giro Women got underway this afternoon from the coastal town of Cesenatico, home of the legendary Marco Pantani, with a stage flat as a pancake, finishing with three laps of a technical 13km circuit in Ravenna. After just 5km, three riders from Italian Continental teams went clear: Sharon Spimi, Valeria Curnis and Sofia Arici. The trio built a maximum advantage of 4 minutes, but once the peloton approached the final circuit, pace and tension quickly increased, and they were eventually reeled in with 50km still remaining.
Meanwhile, after around 40km of racing, a mass crash in the peloton put Cat Ferguson out of contention, with the young Movistar talent forced to leave the race.
The final hour of racing was ridden at a very high pace, with the GC contenders and sprinters fighting to stay near the front and avoid trouble on the technical circuit. The stage ultimately came down to a bunch sprint, although no team was able to fully take control of the lead-out. Even Lorena Wiebes, the pre-race favourite, found herself isolated with 700m to go. The Dutch champion, however, received unexpected help from Millie Couzens who, despite her leader Charlotte Kool being out of position, moved to the front and kept the pace high. Wiebes launched her sprint before the 200m banner, with Elisa Balsamo trying to follow her wheel. Once again, though, the Dutch champion proved untouchable, powering to victory by several bike lengths ahead of Balsamo and Lara Gillespie. Chiara Consonni and Georgia Baker completed the top five, while Kool could do no better than sixth. It was the 127th victory of Wiebes' career and her sixth Giro stage win, further cementing her status as the dominant sprinter of her generation!